U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

April 4, 2007

CONTACT:    Cody Wertz – Comm. Director
303-455-5999


  Sen. Salazar Congratulates Today’s Announced Land Acquisition for Fitzsimons

AURORA, CO – United States Senator Ken Salazar today congratulated the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) on taking its next step forward on the redevelopment of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center:

“Today is another important step forward in bringing a state-of-the-art veterans care facility to Colorado. The VA now possesses more than half the acres needed to complete the redevelopment of the Fitzsimons campus.

“I am pleased to have joined with Senator Allard to have introduced legislation earlier this year to authorize funding to complete the construction of the Fitzsimons VA Hospital.

“I am optimistic that the positive momentum for this project is approaching the critical mass needed to make this vision a reality. The veterans of Colorado deserve the finest care in the country, and completion of this hospital will help ensure that is the case.”

Today, Secretary Nicholson announced that the VA has completed the acquisition of 17 acres at the Fitzsimons site, thanks to funding that Senator Salazar helped secure in the Fiscal Year 2007 budget. At the end of the 109th Congress, Senator Salazar fought to include authorization for $98 million in funding for Fitzsimons in the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (S.3421). This authorization provided a critical boost to the project by allowing the VA to spend the $52 million that was provided in the Fiscal Year 2007 budget.

In 2005, Senator Salazar helped put the redevelopment of the Fitzsimons VA Hospital back on track by bringing together stakeholders to restore action on the project.

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